On October 1st of 2009, I was diagnosed with Kidney Cancer. A few weeks prior to that, I had encountered dark red blood in my urine which alerted me to consult an Urologist. After some routine checks I was sent to get a CT-Scan to confirm what we thought was a kidney stone.
However, the CT-Scan came back with a totally different result. There was a huge black spot which turned out to be a tumor of 2.5 inches in size. Also, there was no way to save the organ and therefore I had a radical nephrectomy - the removal of the entire kidney - done via a minimally invasive procedure on November 30th.
I'd like to tell you a little bit about how I feel now, two weeks after my surgery.
I am happy to report that the recovery process is going remarkably well. There are obviously a few things I can't do, like stretching, jogging, lifting heavy things, but I can walk and move around normally. What amazes me the most, though; there aren't any dietary restriction and the fact that I don't feel any difference living with one kidney only.
Knowing that I only have one kidney left, I thought it will take a while until my remaining kidney and the other organs will get ready to compensate for the loss of one of their compainons. But apparently, that's not the case, every thing seems to work perfectly okay. There some foods I was told to better be careful with, things like red meats and bananas. Basically anything, that contains potassium or causes the body to produce high levels of uric acid.
Well, I personally have a slightly different take on that. First of all, I don't eat meat at all. I was never a big meat eater to begin with and started completely staying away from any kind of meat shortly after my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. I also don't eat any sweets, I never had a sweet tooth, so that's no real sacrifice for me. And as for the alcohol, I stopped drinking completely as of February of this year.
Only a year ago, I had my blood and urine checked after I had to see my doctor because of joint pain I had encountered periodically. He diagnosed me with gout. My body was unable to discharge the excessive amounts of uric acid that were produced in my kidneys. Gout attacks are very painful. And I think only the stent that was put inside of me during a Cystoscopy, caused me more excruciating pain.
So I had the choice - staying off of anything that produces high levels of uric acid or to continue suffering from gout attacks. Apparently, this was a no brainer. Instead I joined my wife in living as healthy as possible. Very little processed food only, a lot of green and leafy stuff, green vegetable smoothies with some fruit, veggie juices made of locally grown organic produce, grains like millet, amaranth, brown rice pasta, etc.
I like to eat and it will always be like that. But nevertheless, now that I changed my diet by cutting out the bad things and eating only what is good for me, I can till eat as much as I want. As a 'side-effect' I lost a noticeable amount of weight and I am now down to my ideal number again.
I really can't complain. I do feel very well and it's only two weeks after my left kidney was removed. I wish I could start working out again, but obviously I am not ready for that, yet.
The bottom line is: I am fine.
However, the CT-Scan came back with a totally different result. There was a huge black spot which turned out to be a tumor of 2.5 inches in size. Also, there was no way to save the organ and therefore I had a radical nephrectomy - the removal of the entire kidney - done via a minimally invasive procedure on November 30th.
I'd like to tell you a little bit about how I feel now, two weeks after my surgery.
I am happy to report that the recovery process is going remarkably well. There are obviously a few things I can't do, like stretching, jogging, lifting heavy things, but I can walk and move around normally. What amazes me the most, though; there aren't any dietary restriction and the fact that I don't feel any difference living with one kidney only.
Knowing that I only have one kidney left, I thought it will take a while until my remaining kidney and the other organs will get ready to compensate for the loss of one of their compainons. But apparently, that's not the case, every thing seems to work perfectly okay. There some foods I was told to better be careful with, things like red meats and bananas. Basically anything, that contains potassium or causes the body to produce high levels of uric acid.
Well, I personally have a slightly different take on that. First of all, I don't eat meat at all. I was never a big meat eater to begin with and started completely staying away from any kind of meat shortly after my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. I also don't eat any sweets, I never had a sweet tooth, so that's no real sacrifice for me. And as for the alcohol, I stopped drinking completely as of February of this year.
Only a year ago, I had my blood and urine checked after I had to see my doctor because of joint pain I had encountered periodically. He diagnosed me with gout. My body was unable to discharge the excessive amounts of uric acid that were produced in my kidneys. Gout attacks are very painful. And I think only the stent that was put inside of me during a Cystoscopy, caused me more excruciating pain.
So I had the choice - staying off of anything that produces high levels of uric acid or to continue suffering from gout attacks. Apparently, this was a no brainer. Instead I joined my wife in living as healthy as possible. Very little processed food only, a lot of green and leafy stuff, green vegetable smoothies with some fruit, veggie juices made of locally grown organic produce, grains like millet, amaranth, brown rice pasta, etc.
I like to eat and it will always be like that. But nevertheless, now that I changed my diet by cutting out the bad things and eating only what is good for me, I can till eat as much as I want. As a 'side-effect' I lost a noticeable amount of weight and I am now down to my ideal number again.
I really can't complain. I do feel very well and it's only two weeks after my left kidney was removed. I wish I could start working out again, but obviously I am not ready for that, yet.
The bottom line is: I am fine.
About the Author:
The author Tony Ulrich provides kidney cancer info on 'My kidney cancer' , a website where he talks about how his own and his wife's cancer diagnoses have changed their lives.
